The process for the preparation of individual taste masked bitter tasting pharmaceuticals by microencapsulation of the pharmaceutical in a coacervation medium containing cyclohexane, an encapsulating polymer and a phase inducing agent is well known in the art. A typical process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,733 to Lewis D. Morse et al which discloses microencapsulation of vitamin mixes by polymer/polymer incompatibility coacervation. A disclosed coating polymer is ethylcellulose, a disclosed phase inducing polymer is polyethylene and a disclosed solvent for the polymers is cyclohexane. Because of its detailed description of the coacervation process, U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,733 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirely. Another description of the preparation of ethylcellulose microcapsules by the liquid-liquid phase separation of ethylcellulose in cyclohexane is given in U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,933, which patent disclosure is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Effervescent granulations and tablets made therefrom are also known to the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,227 to Dieter Hoff et al discloses granulations of sodium citrate, citric acid, saccharin and coloring, granulated in alcohol and dried, the granulations being a pre-mix further admixed with other materials including ampicillin and sodium bicarbonate and then tableted to form effervescent tablets.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) having analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties have been widely administered orally in the treatment of mild to severe pain, particularly for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients. Tolerance or addiction to these drugs is not generally a problem with their continuous use in the treatment of pain or in the treatment of acute or chronic inflammatory states. However, these drugs generally have a higher potential for adverse side effects at the upper concentrations (limits) of their effective dose ranges. Therefore, it is important that such non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs be accurately measured and administered orally.
These non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, e.g., ibuprofen and naproxen, have been widely prescribed by physicians. These drugs are in general tolerated well by most patients and provide an effective means for control of pain and inflammatory processes, particularly for the rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients. However, these non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have severe bitter taste and aftertaste, and have an adverse mouth feel when taken orally.
Therefore, in order to make wider use of them while substantially eliminating the bitter taste, aftertaste and adverse mouth feel and make these drugs more pleasant upon taking them orally, there has long been desired a way to insure delivery of these drugs in their desired concentrations while avoiding their extremely bitter taste, lingering aftertaste and adverse mouth feel effects referred to above connected with their ingestion orally thereby encouraging patient compliance.